Toil and Trouble - FULL

run by donna giltrap

There are three great heroes in the Kingdom of Arkhos. Their fates are bound together, like sticks in a bundle. And those fates will manifest very soon.
One will be king. One will be happy. One will die.
This much is woven into the skein of destiny, and cannot be changed. But destiny can manifest in many different ways. Humans can pull it one way or another, within the confines of its essential nature, if they wield the right sort of power.
That power is called witchcraft.

There are three great heroes in the Kingdom of Arkhos. Their fates are bound together, like sticks in a bundle. And those fates will manifest very soon.

One will be king. One will be happy. One will die.

This much is woven into the skein of destiny, and cannot be changed. But destiny can manifest in many different ways. Humans can pull it one way or another, within the confines of its essential nature, if they wield the right sort of power.

That power is called witchcraft.

***********************************

Exactly one year ago, on the Night of Hallows, three witches gathered to perform a great work of magic. They sought to determine, for themselves, the fates that would be met by three prominent young noblemen.

Their ritual was interrupted by a party of witch-hunting heroes -- none other than the three men whose destinies lay on the line.

In the fracas, a terrible arcane backlash was unleashed. Each witch was banished to her own otherworldly sanctum, with one of the witch-hunters in tow, unable to escape back into reality for an entire year. The ritual itself was held in stasis, awaiting its completion on the next Night of Hallows.

Now the time has come. The sanctum doors have opened. The witches have thrown up powerful shields; this time around, the ritual will be finished, one way or another.

But they have had a year to contemplate their work. A year spent in the company of heroes. Some of them have begun to reconsider their ambitions.

And of course the heroes are all still present, and can speak for themselves.

Someone will receive a crown. Someone will receive joy. Someone will receive death. But which man is which? That has yet to be decided.

Double, double, toil and trouble...

Written by Kristen Hendricks (Howling Fire Theomachy) and Warren Tusk (The Dance and the Dawn). Contains some mature content.